WATCH: ‘Lonely Planet really conveys what it was like living with AIDS in the 1980s’

Prior to its forthcoming West End season during London Pride, Steven Dietz’s AIDS-era two-hander Lonely Planet had its UK premiere last summer. Check out this fab video interview star and producer Aaron Vodovoz gave to The Chiswick Calender during its Tabard Theatre run – then get booking for the transfer!

How would you react if you thought you might have a life-threatening disease? Would you want to know, or not?

It’s the 1980s. An unknown American city. There is no internet and mobile phones are a rarity. A photo appears at a local store of a person’s torso with lesions all over. This is how people became aware of an unknown virus which ended up decimating the gay community. The medical world barely knew what it was or how it got passed around and the moment you realise you’ve contracted this disease, it’s just too late.

Steven Dietz‘s 1993 two-handerLonely Planet is a moving, funny and intimate play that focuses on the friendship between gay men Jody and Carl, played again by Alexander McMorran and Aaron Vodovoz. The play shows an individual’s struggle to come to terms with illness, their own mortality and the stigma associated with AIDS. Ian Brown directs.

Video interview

During last year’s pre-West End run, Aaron Vodovoz gave this great video interview with The Chiswick Calendar. Why did he want to revive Steven Dietz’s 1993 play now? What does AIDS mean to men of his generation? How would you feel attending 30 funerals over six months?

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MyTheatreMates works with a select number of high-quality London and regional productions on Featured Content campaigns. If you'd like your show content featured on our website and social media channels, contact us.

Related

MyTheatreMates works with a select number of high-quality London and regional productions on Featured Content campaigns. If you'd like your show content featured on our website and social media channels, contact us.